Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Williams Companies has been downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating, amidst mixed assessments from other analysts who continue to maintain a general "Hold" rating with a consensus price target of $62.00.
• The company reported Q2 earnings of $0.46 per share, falling short of analyst expectations of $0.49, and revenue of $2.78 billion, which also did not meet the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion.
• Insider trading reports indicate that SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares at around $59.68, reducing his ownership of the stock by 0.63%.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.00.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB stock traded down $0.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $57.22. 1,939,091 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,754,547. Williams Companies has a 12 month low of $42.82 and a 12 month high of $63.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $59.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.77 billion, a PE ratio of 28.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.66.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The company's revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Williams Companies will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total value of $119,360.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 313,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,718,333.60. This represents a 0.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total transaction of $263,115.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 77,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,537,973.64. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,500 shares of company stock worth $507,875 over the last quarter. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WMB. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 104.8% during the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 469 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Williams Companies

The Williams Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy infrastructure company primarily in the United States. It operates through Transmission & Gulf of Mexico, Northeast G&P, West, and Gas & NGL Marketing Services segments. The Transmission & Gulf of Mexico segment comprises natural gas pipelines; Transco, Northwest pipeline, MountainWest, and related natural gas storage facilities; and natural gas gathering and processing, and crude oil production handling and transportation assets in the Gulf Coast region.